Members of national security committee of parliamentarians unveiled

Liberal House leader David McGuinty speaks to the media during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled the 11 members of Canada’s new National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

The committee was assembled after the government passed Bill C-22, the bill to establish the committee and its parameters, in June.

The mandate of the committee is to act as the oversight body for Canada’s national security and intelligence agencies, including the activities of CSIS, the RCMP, and the CBSA. It will report to the prime minister its findings, which will then be tabled in Parliament.

It had already been reported that Liberal MP David McGuinty will chair the committee. This position comes with a $42,200 salary top-up.

The other members of the committee receive an extra $11,900 a year, and all are expected to receive additional security clearances.

The other members are:

The formation of the committee is a first in Canada, and fulfills a Liberal campaign promise to boost national security oversight. However, the bill has been panned by critics as not going far enough to give the members the powers they need to fully do their jobs. Until now, Canada had been the only member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance of countries that did not have an oversight body like this.

It has yet to be determined when the committee will meet for the first time.